


The Flame in the Mountain

by EvergreenEmerald



Series: It's a fire thing [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Half-Human, I Don't Even Know, Implied Sexual Content, Other, Pregnancy, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader-Insert, Romance, Soul Bond, Unplanned Pregnancy, before frisk fell, but still gender-neutral, gender-neutral you, i picture a woman while writing but it really can be anyone, is it tragic?, not smut, reader is a writer, reader is unsure what to do with their life, second chapter the reader has female parts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-22
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-07-26 01:27:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7554829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvergreenEmerald/pseuds/EvergreenEmerald
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You fall down a hole in the mountain and land into the garbage dump of the underground, also injuring yourself. You are found by a man of fire who takes care of you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> one shot that i might continue some day. I'm writing a current sans/reader series but this idea pop into my head and i had to write it all out before i could continue my series. I'll think about it more when i finish my current series.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this one shot and if you notice any errors let me know and i'll fix them. :D

Grillby came as close as he could possibly stand to the garbage dump. He was especially on edge and jumping to every sound being in Waterfall. Water is not his best friend, but he wanted to see if he could find anything he could use for the bar he was planning to open back in Snowdin. Grillby clutched onto his umbrella as he cautiously moved junk around, still nothing salvageable. He sighed, giving up for the day; he turned around and started making his way back home when an avalanche of junk started to pour down. Grillby turned around and back pedaled away from the over flow. He looked up where the new garbage came from, amazed that so much came from the surface and curious to what is still up there. Grillby jumped when he heard someone groan. A human slid slowly down the pile in front of him. Their body was extremely damaged, the fact they survived that fall is close to a miracle. He came closer to them and reached out his hand, but retracted it. There is a war on humans right now, Asgore decreed to kill any human that comes down here for their soul to break the barrier. He has already managed to collect four. Grillby bent down to check their condition before finding someone from the Royal Guard. He can see that unlike the previous humans, this one was full grown, older than the rest were. Their eyes fluttered open, probably curious about the light that he was giving off. He prepared himself for them to scream but instead they just stared at him with eyes that were full of awe. He was taken aback from the beauty of it. They whispered softly. “Pretty…” They reached up to touch him, but they winced in pain. They fell asleep again. Grillby started to feel conflicted to what he should do.

 

* * *

 

 

You woke up completely sore everywhere. None of your limbs would do what you wanted and felt like they were being held down by bricks. You see that you are lying in a foreign bed and covered with a blanket tucked up to your chin. You try to remember what happened to you. All you remember is being forced to go to a party on Mt. Ebott with your friend. Well kind of your friend, they were just a person you used to hang out with in high school. They came back to town from college on vacation while you were still working at the same bookstore, living in the same house with your parents. It’s not like you didn’t want to go to college too, you just didn’t know what you wanted to study yet. You sigh and try to sit up again. You are sure that your family must be worried about you. You try to move your legs to the side of the bed, but pain shot up your leg causing tears to swell up in your eyes and a scream out your mouth. A door swings open and someone comes rushing in. You yelp again when they come into view. “Aah, you’re on fire!” You looked at the person engulfed in flames, completely horrified.

 

They raised a hand, also covered in flames, and cover their mouth as they let out a deep crackling chuckle. “No… I am made of fire…” He whispered his voice came out sizzling.  He pulled up a chair next to you. “How are you feeling?”

 

You continued to stare at him. This man was made of fire? You must have really hit your head hard or something because uh…. No, not possible. He waited for you to speak, patiently. You notice that he was wearing a plain white button up shirt and began to wonder how that wasn’t bursting into flames from being against his skin. He cleared his throat; your face becomes warm from embarrassment. You forgot that he had just asked you a question while you were staring at him. “O-oh, um, I feel… sore and heavy, and my leg is killing me.” He nodded in understanding.

 

“Here…” He unwrapped something and held it up to your mouth. You looked at it suspiciously. “It’s monster candy, it should help…”

 

“Monster candy?” He nodded, still holding the food to your mouth. You slowly open and he slides the candy in, his warm fingers slightly grazing your lips. Odd. You chew on the candy and you feel some of the throbbing pain in your leg subside, making it more bearable. “Where am I?”

 

“The underground… remember falling?” You shake your head.

 

He watches you as you try to remember what happened before. You remember being at the party in the junkyard on the mountain, not having the best of time and deciding to explore. That’s it. “What is this place? What are you?”

 

“Do you not know about the mountain?” He tilted his head.

 

“Just the legend that if someone climbs up Mt. Ebott, they will never be seen again… nothing about people made of fire…” You blinked at him. You just noticed he was giving off a very pleasant warmth, like a fireplace. It was making you slightly sleepy again.

 

He chuckled again. “It seems humans have forgotten about us…” He scooted his chair closer to you, making you feel even warmer. “You see, long ago, two races ruled over Earth…”

 

* * *

 

 

You sigh, finishing another book. You have been down here for a few weeks now and you were starting to get anxious to leave. Your parents must be freaking out, but you can’t really do anything about. You glared down at your leg, wrapped in a makeshift cast. From that lovely fall down the rabbit hole, you broke your leg, sprained a wrist, and had bruises and cuts all over your body. It could have been worse; you could have died if it wasn’t for Grillby. The monster candy and other foods that he brought you had really helped heal your less serious wounds. Now if just your leg would heal then you could…

 

There was a knock at the door.  Grillby’s familiar flaming figure stepped through the doors. “Hey Grill.” You gave him a meek wave. He nodded at you as he walked in, going about his business in swift movements. You quickly learned that he was a man of few words and only spoke when he really needed to. But being around him so much that you feel that you can read what he wants to verbalize to you with his body language alone. “How the search go?”

 

He let out a puff of frustration that caused you to giggle. You found his frustrated sounds adorable. “I see, still can’t find any good stuff. I guess it is kind of hard when it is surrounded by water.” He nodded as he brought a bowl over to you. “More taste testing?” Grillby wanted to serve a specialty but was still perfecting various recipes that he could serve. He has been having you try them, they were good, but not something you go out to buy for. This time seems to be a soup with…grounded up meat? You shrug and take a bite. You regret it. A shiver runs down your spine. It was like drinking hot dog water with bits of goo that tasted like hamburger meat and there was something crunchy in it.

 

Grillby took the bowl from your lap as you choked. He gave you a concerned look and placed the bowl on the night stand to pat your back. “Ugh, Grill, what the hell is in that?”

 

“Grounded up water sausage and cave beetles …” You heaved slightly. That explains the crunch. You don’t know what a water sausage is but it can’t be as bad as bugs. You just ate bugs….. Bugs…. Your stomach twisted into a knot.

 

“Water, I need water.” You are starting to panic from disgust. Grillby stands up and grabs your glass. Heading to the window, he carefully scoops up some fresh snow from outside into the glass and covers it completely with both hands as he walks back over. He hands you over the glass of freshly melted snow, still cold somehow. You down the glass in one go. Grillby laughs at you slightly. “That’s not funny, I hate bugs…. I understand that food variety is limited down here, but really there has to be something you guys won’t eat.” You sigh placing the glass down on the night stand. “When you guys get back up to the surface, be sure to serve this to unwelcome humans, that’ll keep them away for sure.”

 

Grillby flinches at the mention of the surface. You give him a quizzical look. “What? You did say that the king was currently working on breaking the barrier and he is half way there right? You’ll get there and open a bar for sure, I know it.” You pat him on the shoulder and he flinches again. You are starting to feel like he isn’t telling you something, but you feel like you should let it go. You lean back onto the wall and try to scratch the skin under the makeshift cast. How he knew how to take care of broken bones when he himself has none, that you know of, is beyond you. He looks over at the soup and sighs.

 

“At least the goo was kind of good. Tasted like burger meat, man, I could go for a burger.” He tilts his head in confusion. “Uh, you know… a cheeseburger? Comes with fries usually?” You hold an imaginary burger in your hand and take a pretend bite. “Nothing?” He shrugs his shoulders at you.

 

“If only I could show you, my dad makes some rad burgers. I’ve been watching him make them at every family barbecue.” Grillby’s flames around his head flickered slightly, meaning he just thought of something. He stands up from his seat, made his way to you, and leans down. His face closer than it has ever been before. “Uh, Grillby… whacha doin?” He slides his arms under you and picks you up in one fell swoop. You are so surprised that you didn’t even make a sound as you wrapped your arms around his neck, holding on for dear life. He has no trouble carrying you as he leaves the room with you in his arms.

 

“Grill-Grillby, seriously, warn a person when you do that…” You whisper into his shoulder. You are still amazed by his body…erm… meaning that he doesn’t set anything on fire when he himself is fire. It almost felt like he had real flesh on him, like there really was muscle in his arms. Really nice muscles. You kind of lose yourself in snuggling against his warm chest that has brought you comfort now. A small crackling chuckle vibrates around you, you look up to see Grillby…smirking? Your eyes widened at the sight of a small slit of a mouth that had curved up into a smile.

 

Your face feels warmer than it was pressed against his chest. You puff out your cheeks to hide your embarrassment. “You’re a walking heater; I can’t help but snuggle into something as warm as you.”  A white-blue shade of flames dust his face, it is his form of a blush. You watch the new colored flames dance across his face. You don’t even notice that he has lowered you down into a seat and props your still injured leg on a chair. You look around to see you are in a small kitchen. “Um…”

 

“Teach me…” He starts pulling out ingredients from his cabinets.

 

“You mean teach you how to make burgers?” You blink a few times at him. He nods at you before moving about the kitchen to gather more tools. He is piling food and spices on the table for you to look at. Something was glistening behind his glasses. He was excited. You couldn't help but laugh at how cute he was being. “Okay, okay, first things first, what in the hell is a water sausage?”

 

* * *

 

 

Grillby was a fast learner. By the end of the night, he has mastered making a ‘patty’ and you got to eat your fill of his cooking. Grillby sits down in the chair and lays his head down on the table, sighing with content. You sit there for a moment, reading some fantasy book he brought you. He was just too nice to you, bringing you new books from the library whenever you run out. You look over to Grillby who seemed to have fallen asleep. You close your book and watch the now low flames that flickered on his head.

 

Leaning your head on one hand, you reach out to touch his ‘hair’. Running your fingers through the soft warm flames, you accidentally touch something more solid. It was his actual head. You pull back your hand, thinking that he would wake up from you touching him, but he didn’t. You slowly placed your hand back and started gently pat his head like your mom used to do to help you fall asleep as a kid. He seems to enjoy it, leaning his head into your hand. He must not get this kind of affection often, with him being made of fire; people might not try to touch him in fear of getting burned. You lay your head down and watch him sleep, your hand still weaving through his flames. Your eyes become heavy, you whisper goodnight to him and fall asleep next to his warmth.

 

* * *

 

 

Bang Bang

 

You groaned at the loud sound. Just five more minutes you thought, you were so warm and finally found that perfect spot, till your heat source decided to get up. He sat there for a moment, not seeming to get fully up. You hear him sigh with content and something warm came near your face. There was another bang and Grillby shot up from his chair, it scratching against the floor roughly. He rushed out of the room and came back, tossing something over you. What sounded like a door opened and someone began to speak. “Hey Grillby, did you hear? One of the dog guards caught the scent of a human in Waterfall. You know what that means, one more SOUL closer to being freed. They are telling everyone to keep an eye out for them.”

 

You tense up. They are looking for a human, as in you? And what about ‘one more soul’? “Have you seen anything? I know you been going to the garbage dump to gather supplies, though I haven’t seen you out lately…what have you been doing?” You hear the door move slightly and some fire snaps go off. “A secret? Okay then… Well, see you around; remember to look out for any humans.” The door shuts and you hear Grillby sigh heavily with relief. Is Grillby hiding you? Why? Why are the monsters looking for you? Is that a problem? Questions swirl around your mind till you hear Grillby take a few steps toward you.

 

You feel whatever was covering you being lifted, you quickly relax your body to make it seem like you were still asleep. He sighs again more softly, a warm hand brushes hair out of your face. It was a very pleasant feeling, having his somewhat hot fingers graze against your cheeks. He pulls back and you groan out in displeasure from the lack of heat. He chuckles, the sound of a crackling fire surrounds you as he lifts you up. Unconsciously, you wrap your arms around his neck and snuggle into his chest, trying to absorb some of his warmth. He tensed but soon relaxes and carried you out the room. Before he could deposit you back into bed, you had already fallen asleep again.

 

* * *

 

 

The cast has finally been removed after another week. Your leg has completely healed but it was weak from the lack of usage. Grillby had specifically told you, like actually spoke to you, to not walk on it unless he was in the room with you to make sure you don’t get hurt again. You decided to not listen to this rare verbal warning and were currently practicing on your own. The sooner you can walk the sooner you get out of here. You were holding onto the bed as you cautiously took a few steps. You managed to walk around the bed with only a few stumbles. Now you are going to challenge yourself and walk to the window without the bed for support. Breathing deep, you take a step. So far so good. Another. And another. You are halfway there to the window. The door opens, startling you. You try to turn to Grillby to apologize, but end up tripping over your slow responsive foot and feel yourself starting to fall. You hold your breath and shut your eyes, bracing for impact. Instead of hitting the cold floor, you landed directly into warm arms.

 

“O-oh, um, H-hi Grills. How’s it hangin?” You gave him a nervous smile. He narrows his brow at you and huffs disapprovingly. “I know, I know. I just want to try and-” He lifts you up and carries you back to bed. He is still mad at you. “Come on Grillby, I have to practice or else it is going to take longer for me to get back home.” He flinches as you lectured him and he places you down. He has been doing that a lot lately, whenever you mention leaving and going back to the surface. “I can’t just stay here all my life…”

 

He sits down next to you and leans forward, his hands pressed into the bed on both sides of you. “Why not…” You smell charcoal and smoke as his breath warms your face. The only thing cool about this guy is his gentleman-like personality. His face is only a few inches away from yours now, you are unsure where to look and your eyes dart around the room. You feel his hand reach for your face, pushing some stray hairs behind your ear. “Why not…” He whispered. A shiver runs up your spine and you bite your lip. Another thing he has been doing lately, he has been touching you more freely lately. Just small little gestures like brushing back your hair and wrapping his arm around your waist as you practice walking. Though, the most embarrassing thing he has done was when he wiped away some food from your lips with his thumb and proceeded to put that into his mouth, licking it clean, you think. Does he have a tongue? Stop, no, don’t think about him having a tongue. He was still waiting for your answer as your mind was still trying to descramble itself.

 

“I…just… my family… um… I mean it’s not like I really have anything or anyone up there, but I ….” You just notice that he actually didn’t move his hand from your face and was slowly stroking your cheek with a finger. How can you think when he does that? No words seem to be able to form in your mouth; you sat there like a deer caught in headlights. The room was silent.

 

Till there was a mass attack on the windows from outside causing both of you to jump. Grillby ran to the window and looked outside. He whispered. “Gaster…” He opened the window and leaned out.

 

“Good evening Grillby, I do apologize for that disturbance.” A voice shouted up at him. “This baby bones thought it would be oh so _ice_ of him if he _snowed-_ off his _cool_ new magic.” Grillby chuckles understandingly and waved to whoever it was before closing the window again.

 

“Who was that?” Grillby comes back over to you, sitting on the bed, but farther away. You miss his warmth, but shake it off to concentrate on what he is saying.

 

“The Royal Scientist, he works in Hotland at his lab. He takes his son with him in hopes that he will become a scientist too and work together.” He chuckles. “It seems the young one is starting to learn magic already… and accidentally threw snow everywhere. Gaster was covered in it.”

 

You laugh along with him, remembering your own antics as a child and putting your parents through odd situations like that, minus the magic. “Where is Hotland?”

 

* * *

 

 

You lay in bed thinking about everything Grillby has told you. He showed you where Waterfall was, which is where he found you, then Hotland and then lastly New Home, where the King’s castle and barrier is. First impression, the King sucks at names and the second was that this place isn’t that large. You heard plenty of monsters outside, Grillby won’t let you out to see them. Are they all able to fit down here? Is space a problem? You shake your head, no, that isn’t the problem; the fact that they are stuck down here is the problem. You wish you could do something for them, you wish you could show Grillby your gratitude for him for saving your life. You toss in your bed, thinking about Grillby again. Is there anything you could to return his kindness? All you have done so far is live off him for free as he takes care of you and taught him how to make burgers. You groan to yourself, trying to think of what you could do, but decide to think about it more in the morning.

 

* * *

 

 

“Is there something I could help you with?” You begged Grillby in the kitchen as he was cooking breakfast. It has been a few days and you were now able to walk around on your own. You started helping around the house, cleaning up, sometimes doing the dishes after dinner. Also how did he do it before without water? He turned his head at you, confused. He shook his head and gave you a smile, his way of saying that it was okay and you don’t have to do anything. “I want to do something for you…. Is there something that you wish you could do, but can’t?” He thought for a moment and got an idea, but quickly pushed it away and shook his head. You narrow your eyes at him. You have come to learn Grillby’s tells and understand his expressions that you used to think he lacked of. “Nuh uh, man, fess up. I saw that spark, you thought of something.” You pressed him. He sighed, he now knows you as well, so he understand you won’t let up on this.

 

“Okay… there is something…”

 

* * *

 

 

“How about this?” You hold up a nicer looking chair that you dragged out of the water. Grillby, who was sitting by the edge, shakes his head. Man, is he a picky guy or what? You have found a few bottles that he approved of that he will later fill with his own alcohol, some condiment bottles (though where will he find ketchup and mustard to fill them?), and a sweet silky black button-up vest. He was resistant to that and still hasn’t even bothered to pick it up from where you left it. You get out of the water and start ringing out your shirt. “Come on Grills, just try it. This isn’t something a bama would wear. Dude, just try it.” You pick it up and force him to take it.

 

Using his hands, he dries off the vest in seconds. He sighs as he slides the vest on and proceeds to button it up. He actually looks… really good. Like, really good. You almost regret finding him that. You divert your eyes away from him and pretend to look at the pile in front of him, facing away from the wonderfully dressed flame. Pretending starts to become real as you become amazed at how much humans just throw away. A lot of this stuff was still good but because they don’t want it anymore, it ends up here. Like this, some perfectly good DVDs, granted they are some cartoon, but still… You reach out to pick them up, but when you do, it causes some junk to fall down, loudly. It startled you and you dropped the DVD somewhere as you back pedaled.  “Ah, dang it.” You sigh; hoping no one heard your disturbance. You look back to Grillby who only shrugged.

 

Looking back at the pile, you notice something colorful peeking out. “Hey, check this out…” You get closer and push some of the debris away. “Oh wow. It’s a juke box. Man, this is from way back in the day. It still got some records too. This would be great in the bar, it plays music while everyone eats and drinks at the bar.” You turn back to smile at Grillby, who nodded approvingly at you. “Now how are you gonna-” You heard someone yelling and jumped into the water. Grillby said to hide in there if someone comes, he made you promise to hide if anyone was to come in exchange for you to dumpster dive for him.

 

You made your way behind a pile just in time to see a little blue blur jump at Grillby. “En Guarde!” Grillby easily dodges the little ball of fury. You try not to giggle at the red headed kid yelling and trying to fight Grillby. Someone else comes laughing and picks up the child.

 

The new person had a shell… a real live Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle! Well he looks more like an old man than a teenager and you don’t know if he is a ninja… but still! So cool! You really wanted to get closer, but Grillby didn’t want other monsters seeing you for some reason, so you stayed back. Your eyes didn’t leave the walking turtle as he spoke to Grillby. “Hey now, enough of that, remember last time when you attacked people blindly? We didn’t get mail for a whole month because everyone was scared of you.” He chuckled at the energetic bundle under his arm before turning to Grillby. “What are you doing here so late?”

 

Grillby held up the bag full of bottles. “Ah, you have been sitting here, waiting for bottles to float by?” He nods his head. “I see, what was that crash earlier?” Grillby point up. “More fell from above huh?” The turtle sounded skeptical of Grillby. He rubbed his beard as he looked up at the hole. “I assume you know about the human that has been smelled around here. I also assume you know that you are SUPPOSED to bring the human to the King for him to kill them and extract their SOUL.” The turtle man glared down Grillby knowingly. Grillby scooted over, directly in front of where you were hiding and blocking the turtle man’s knowing-eyes from spotting you. Grillby’s flames flickers slightly higher in a threatening manner. The turtle broke out into laughter again. “Wa ha ha! Anyhoo, come along little urchin, we’ll start patrolling towards Hotland. No one is out and about in Snowdin at this time.”

 

“Can I help you fight them this time?” The child flopped around in the turtle’s hold as he turned around to leave the opposite direction you came from. He glanced over at Grillby one last time as he spoke, not really to the excited child. “Let’s hope no one has to FIGHT. Good luck getting home.” Once they were for sure gone, you made your way to Grillby.

 

You climbed out of the water. Still on your knees, you look down the path the turtle took. He knew you were there… and told you both that it would be safe to go home now… but what he said about the King… You bite your lip. That’s why Grillby has been keeping you hidden and so paranoid of everything. You were being hunted by monsters, to be killed, and have your SOUL taken from your corpse. You shiver from the cold and the new information. You can’t seem to make yourself get up or stop shivering. Tears were welling up in your eyes. On top of an entire underground population hunting you down, you indirectly turned Grillby into a criminal. Could he get in real trouble for hiding you? Will he be locked away? Or suffer the same fate as you would at the hands of the King? You feel yourself starting to panic from fear and the unknowing of what is going to happen to you when arms wrapped around you. “Grillby?”

 

“I thought… he was going to take you…” He was shaking as he held you closer to him. Steam formed from your wet clothes and his flaming body being pressed together. “I was afraid… but I wouldn’t have let, I won’t let anyone take you…” His grip tightened around you, crushing your bodies against each other. Your clothes were now dried, but he still held on to you for dear life.

 

You wormed your hands up and held his face. “It’s alright Grillby; I know you will always protect me… I’m still here with you aren’t I?” You leaned your forehead against his.

 

“Yes…” He weaved his hands through your hair, drying that as well.

 

“Then smile. I like your smile.” You nuzzle your forehead against his, giving him a small grin. Your actions earned you a wonderfully happy expression from him, a smile that met his eyes… he has eyes? There were two small slits that opened up behind his glasses that sparked. It kind of looked like there was a firework show going off inside just for you. “Beautiful…” You whispered your thoughts out loud. You realized what you just said and try to pull away in embarrassment, but he doesn’t let you.

 

“Taking my lines away again…” He pulls you in and you feel the heat of his lips(?) being pressed against you. Your eyes go wide for a moment, but soon you relax into him, wrapping your arms around his back. Once he feels you kiss him back, he pulls you even closer, holding your face to his with both hands. He pulls back slightly and whispers to you as you pant. “We should go home…”

 

* * *

 

 

Once inside Grillby’s home again in Snowdin, he picks you up into a kiss. You wrap your legs around him and hold his face as you kiss him more enthusiastically. Without much effort, he manages to carry you to your room and lies on top of you, pressing hot kisses against your neck. You moan his name slightly. He gives out a slight chuckle as his face comes back to yours. His lips crush against yours with an overflowing desire for you. Hands wandered around your body, warming it up from the cold outside. You feel something brush against your lips and you open your mouth. His hot tongue swarmed in your mouth, claiming every inch as his. You pull him closer, wrapping your legs tighter around him. You don’t notice the hands in your shirt till he pulls it over your head. You put your hands on him and unbutton the vest and then his shirt. You feel his somehow solid body, hands starting at his shoulders, down his chest, around his stomach and back up again. Clothes keep coming off, both of you not really pausing in-between kisses unless you have to. His hot hands explore your body like no one else has. You want to be touched by him more, feel him more around you. You want to touch him more, find what makes him happy and moan loudly. You have so much to express but no idea on how to say it to him. The feelings you have for him are all new and foreign to you.

 

“Grillby I… I think… I might… love you.” You mumbled breathlessly between kisses. He pulls back slightly, searching for something in your expression. “I never felt like this… I don’t know what it is. I had been feeling like this for a while. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you when you aren’t around, and when you are I feel like I’m always watching you and I get embarrassed by the small gestures that you do and I…. I just love you and everything about you….” Majority of his face becomes blue and he buries his head into your shoulder. “Hey, hey. Grills, don’t leave me hangin.” He grumbles into your shoulder. “What?”

 

He pulls back again, the blue blush still there. “I love you too…” Your eyes widened from the shock of him answering your feelings. You can’t believe it. A hand wanders lower and starts to explore a new part of you. You gasp at the sensation. “For a while now… I wanted to say something but… I was afraid… but now I don’t have to hold back.” His hands are moving faster, rubbing you in all the right places.

 

“Grillby!” You gasp for air and hold on to his shoulder. You want more, you want HIM.

 

He sheepishly looks to the side, contemplating something. “There is something I want to do before…if you don’t want to that’s fine…”

 

You reach up and place a gentle hand on his face. “Just tell me what it is. I’m sure I’ll be okay with it since it’s with you.” He nods looking you in the eyes and something white floats out of his chest.

 

* * *

 

 

You watch Grillby as he sleeps. His flames seem to dim down like coals that were still hot from a camp fire that had already died out. You couldn’t sleep. After becoming intimate with Grillby a few days ago, you have been feeling more anxious. You know that the monsters are still looking for you and you can’t just stay here. But at the same time, you know the extent of Grillby’s and your feelings are for each other, you felt it all when your SOULs touched. You guess it was his way of communicating how he truly felt for you. Now you have to make a decision. Do you stay here with the person you love that requires you to be put in always constant danger, or do you go back to the surface to your family where you will have to live a life without the person you love till the barrier breaks? You snuggle closely to the warm monster in bed with you. Everything you guys are doing right now is against the King’s decree. You and Grillby are enemies in the King’s war who accidentally fell in love in a war-zone. Those kinds of stories never end well for the couple, but they were happy at least… You mindlessly stroke his arm, eyes growing heavy. You made up your mind.

 

* * *

 

 

The next night you made your way to the surface. Avoiding anything and everything as you snuck yourself to the barrier, either unnoticed or people really didn’t care. In front of the barrier, you take a deep breath, and place your hand on the magical wall… or not. Your hand went right through it. You take a step through, feeling magic pour all around you for a moment and then fresh cool air hits you in the face. You forgot about the cool crisp air outside and inhale the wonderful air. You turn back to the barrier, unsure where to begin with yourself. The first thing you do on the surface again is cry for the lover you left behind.

 

Not knowing that you needed a monster and human soul to cross the barrier, you didn’t question that the barrier didn’t work on you, a non-magical being. Grillby had given you more than your life and love, but a piece of him that you carried with you that allowed you to cross.

 

* * *

 

 

Grillby woke up with empty arms, your cool skin not pressed against his like usual. He assumed you went to the restroom like always in the morning and laid his head back down. He groans when he hears someone knocking at his door. Getting up, he goes to answer the door to a friend of his who was a bird-like monster. “Hey, they found the human this morning; five SOULS have now been collected.” Grillby gripped onto the door handle, his fire becoming slightly out of control. The snow on his porch was starting to melt. “Whoa, hey Grillby… are you okay?” Grillby can only nod and gives him a half-hearted wave goodbye. He lets go of the handle to see that it had melted to the shape of his hand. He turns around and starts searching the whole house for you. You were nowhere inside. He went to the room you two have been sharing and sits there as his SOUL feels like crumbling apart, surprised that it hasn’t already started. He lifts off his glasses and rubs his face when he noticed a note. He picks it up and it’s from you.

 

_Grills;_

_I know you must be mad at me right now, but I couldn’t stay here with you while everyone was out to get me. If you got caught up in the fire and had to be punished for being with a human, I would have lied to everyone and say that I never met you or that I wasn’t in love with you. But I know you wouldn’t agree to that and we end up sharing the same fate. I couldn’t let that happen. So when you fell asleep, I got up and left in the middle of the night while most monsters were sleeping. I’m probably close to the surface or already made it by the time you are reading this. I love you and I’ll be waiting on the other side for you._

_Love, ____

Grillby sighed. It couldn’t have been you that was found. You left a long time ago. Grillby believed with all of his SOUL that you were still alive… but he still mourns for the loss of you till the barrier was broken.

 

* * *

 

 

Years have passed and Frisk had come to the underground, changed the hearts of monsters, and broke the barrier, freeing them all. Grillby sighed, feeling the cool crisp air on his face. The government had built fences around the mountain as monsters were still coming out. He had almost hoped to see you standing just outside the entrance, but that wouldn’t be possible. You had probably moved on from him, found someone new to love and lived a happy life with them instead. Forgetting about him all together. Grillby sighed, straightened up his vest and patted the pocket that still held your letter. If he doesn’t ever see you again, at least he still has the memory of you and what you meant to him back then. He started walking down the mountain, thinking of the plans for his new, bigger and better bar on the surface; one with windows so everyone can see that they were on the surface still. Sans came up to him with Frisk clinging onto him, looking slightly confused. “Hey Grills, there is a human at the gate… asking for you, by name…”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cool fact about this chapter is that it was published in my school's [newspaper](https://theminaretonline.com/2016/09/21/fan-fiction-the-flame-in-the-mountain/)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you make it back to the surface but brought something along with you to the surface

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here is a second ch to my one shot! finally finished it.  
> And i tried to type a version for the reader if they were male and had a really hard time with it because i originally imagined the reader as female and gave up. I kept to gender neutral terms and Zaza is a gender neutral term for a parent like mama/papa.  
> i hope you enjoy it  
> let me know if you notice any errors

You climbed down the mountain, stumbling down the dirt path as you made your way towards town. You realized that you are too clean and put together for someone who has been missing in on the mountain for… how long were you down there? A month, maybe two, longest being three? You have no clue… But if you tell them that you fell into a long forgotten cave full of monsters that were sealed away by humans with magic centuries ago… you’ll be considered crazy and be sent to a hospital for the insane for sure. Or if they believe you, the most likely response is to blow up the mountain, not to help the innocent monsters there. Grillby would be in danger because of you all over again… No, you slap your cheeks and then bend down grabbing a handful of dirt. You smear it everywhere, on your face, in your hair, even under your clothes. You start ripping up your clothes to make it seem like you were walking for a while. Luckily as you made your trek through the trees, little branches added a few scratches to your face and exposed skin. You take a deep breath and step out of the woods. No one paid much attention to you until you got more into town, you notice people were pointing at you and whispering for some odd reason. You just shrug it off and continue on to the police station. You know your parents would have reported you, might as well go there first.

 

“Excuse me; are you ___ ___, the person on the poster?” A woman asks you, looking at you with concern. You look over to the pole with a missing-persons flyer on it. It had a picture of you from when you graduated from high school. You pull off the poster and look at what was written on it… hmm your parents offered a pretty big reward for your return… Wait…went missing six months ago?!

 

You turn to the woman and ask her what the date was and sure enough, it was six months….almost seven now. “Shit, I didn’t know I was gone that long…”

 

“So you are ___?” You nod at her; still in shock that time had moved so fast for you. Maybe Grillby made it feel like it was faster… you already miss him terribly.

 

* * *

 

 

You were taken straight to the hospital to be examined. The doctor came back saying that you were just dehydrated and seem to have a small fracture in your leg, it won’t be a big issue and just need to wear a brace for two to three weeks for it to heal. You noticed that you lost some weight, must be from eating healthier food and being more active… heh, you were really active with Grillby… stop, it is not the time to have your head in the gutter. You sigh into your hand as you watch your IV drip more fluids into your arm. Your parents were on their way, and you know they are going to be crying. You prepare yourself for the millions of questions and the unending hugs you’ll receive. The police questioned you earlier to what happened to you. You told them that you fell down a hidden cavern in the mountain; it took you awhile to find your way out. You got sick and couldn’t move that well and ended up staying in the same spot for a while. When they asked if anyone else was around or anything, you said no. They asked what did you eat and you listed off a few things. They stopped you at water sausage and asked what the hell was that, you replied that you made the same face when you first heard of it too. You sigh again, looking at the window, the mountain’s side was visible and you felt something quiver in your chest. It was painful and full of sorrow. You can tell that Grillby knows that you are gone now. Your SOUL is screaming to go back to him, to comfort him, to hold him. You press a hand to your chest, trying to will it to calm down.

 

“___!” Your mother comes bursting through the doors. You feel tears spill down your cheek at the sight of her, your father close behind her.

 

“Mom…” You smile at her painfully. You weren’t expecting yourself to feel this relieved to see your parents’ faces, not realizing how much you had actually missed them.

 

“My baby, my sweet child, oh thank whatever power brought you back, alive.” Your mom jumped on your bed, hugging you to her chest. You wrapped shaking arms around her, clutching onto her clothes as you cried.

 

“M-mom…mom…. I…. I…..” She rubbed your head and back as you cried with her.

 

She pulled back to give you a kiss on the forehead and smiled at you, tears still on her cheeks. “It’s okay, you’re back. My baby is back in my arms and that’s all that matters.” You feel your dad come behind you, wrapping his arms around you both. He doesn’t say anything as he kisses the top of your head. He doesn’t need to. All three of you sit there in a group hug as you cry together, relieved that you are all back together again.

 

* * *

 

 

_“So how did you survive on a mountain all by yourself for so long?”_

_“What did you eat to survive?”_

_“What happened while on the mountain?”_

_“Did you see anything weird while there?”_

 

People kept calling, plaguing you with questions. You clutched your head, a pounding headache toppling you over on the counter at the bookstore. “Whoa there child! Are you alright? You are looking a little green around the gills there.” Mr. Patterson came walking in with a hand full of new books to stock on the shelves. You groan in response. “People still bothering you about what happened on the mountain?”

 

“Yeah… even my parents are starting to ask more…. But I just shut them out. I can’t tell them everything that happened up there.” Mr. Patterson is a 70 year old man and has been there for you since you were a small child first discovering the joys of reading. He has become like a grandfather to you. His hair was grey when you first met him but was now pure white and thinning out. His face had more wrinkles than before, his battle scars of time as he called them, the more he had the wiser he is. You wonder when he will finally retire.

 

He gave you an understanding look. “Yeah, if you were my child I would freak out too if you told me that there were monsters living in the mountain and that the monster who saved you, you fell in love with.”

 

“Why didn’t you freak out?” Mr. Patterson is the only person who bothered to get to know you and could tell that there was more to your story than what you were telling everybody. He cornered you on your first day back to work and you gave in.

 

He stood up, both hands holding his lower back as he turned to you. “You are not one to tell lies of that caliber, plus I’m 70 and lived in this town my whole life. Hearing that monsters are trapped under that mountain isn’t that strange, hell, it actually makes sense when you think about the mystery that surrounds that mountain” He turns to the front of the store, looking out the front window you could see the peak of Mt. Ebott. “I wonder if my niece fell down there, all those years ago…”  He sighs and starts heading for the back. “Take your time; I’m sure you will be able to tell them someday.”

 

“What if I can’t remember everything? It has been a month and I’m starting to feel like it was all just a dream.” You groan rubbing your temples. Maybe you did hallucinate everything? The pounding headache wasn’t helping your confused mind at all.

 

“If remembering is your issue then maybe you should write it all down, might even make a good book. Either way, I am glad you are back, who else am I going to leave this store to? My grandson grew up to be a great man and now with a wonderful wife, but businessman he is not… this place would go bankrupt in a week with him in charge…” Mr. Patterson started grumbling to himself about his legacy as he walked to the back. You chuckled to yourself. Write a book huh?

 

* * *

 

 

Mr. Patterson was right. You decided to write everything you remembered and learned while down there, throwing in some dramatic parts of course to add more excitement, but all the romance between the main characters were the same moments you and Grillby shared together. It has only been a week and you have typed over fifty pages worth. You would be further if it wasn’t for the constant heartburn and nausea you have been having. You closed your clunky laptop and went to lie in your bed. You sigh contentedly as you pull the blanket over your head and fall asleep.

 

You are woken up moments later by your mother knocking on your door. “Hon, I made some ginger tea, it should help with your stomach problems.” You come out from under the covers as your mom sat down next to you. “I also brought some antiacids.”

 

You take the cup and antiacids gratefully. Taking in the smell of the tea, you down the tea in one go. You SOUL and stomach buzzed happily as pleasant heat spread throughout your body, muscles relaxing and your stomach unclenched. You made sure to get every drop out of the cup. “Thanks, I feel much better after that. It was exactly what I needed.”

 

“Are you sure? Maybe you need some of this too?” You see your dad holding up a plastic bag with what looked like a tub of ice cream in it.

 

“Is that cookie dough ice cream?” You gasped as your dad sat on the other side of the bed next to you. He placed the small tub in your lap and a spoon in your hand.

 

“My baby isn’t feeling well; of course I’ll get you your favorite ice cream.” Your dad huffed as your mom rolled her eyes.

 

You rip open the ice cream and take a big bite of the delicious frozen treat. “I don’t think ice cream can be good for a stomach ache.” Your mom talked to your dad as you focused on the ice cream melting in your mouth before swallowing. As soon as the ice cream hit your stomach, the knot that disappeared came back. You lurch forward, trying to stop the burning vomit from staining your bed. You mom hurriedly grabbed your trash can and held it under your face. There goes your tea….

 

“Ugh, not even ice cream?” You groaned, pushing the tub away from you and wiping your mouth.

 

Your mother rubs your back as you mourn the loss of the contents in your stomach. Your dad nervously laughs. “Reminds me of when you were pregnant with ___, you said the same thing after one sip of your favorite milkshake.”

 

You open your eyes wide and realize something… you haven’t had your period…

 

* * *

 

 

~10 weeks pregnant~

 

The mystery of your illness had been solved, but that wasn’t the end of your problems. You had to tell your parents who the father was which means you had to tell them everything… Your mother took it as it was. She doesn’t seem to believe that Grillby was a monster trapped underground, but she was more focused on the small body growing inside you now. Occasionally she would come over to you as you write and start rubbing your stomach, trying to feel any sign of them. Your father on the other hand…. He thinks you were taken advantage of while being drugged up, that your mind made up this story to cope with what happened. He says it so often and is so cautious of you that you start to think that he is right. It has been a few weeks and you finally finished your story and, embarrassedly, gave a copy to Mr. Patterson. You read it over to yourself, the scenes between “you” and “Grillby” come to mind in vivid images. You can see the fireworks that sparkle in his eyes as he looks at you, hear his crackling deep voice as he whispers that he loves you, and  feel the burning sensation of his hot body heating up your skin everywhere. It was real, it had to have been.

 

You walk over to the window, the mountain barely visible through all the buildings in town. Your SOUL pressed against your chest, willing itself free. You watch as the purple heart floated in front of you, streaks of white swirled inside it. The white had belonged to Grillby, he gave you piece of his SOUL as well as you gave him a piece of yours. But he seemed to have given you more than just a piece of him. You push you SOUL back and rub your stomach, still not yet noticeable. No belly yet, though cravings had started and so far you wanted everything burnt. Burnt toast is your favorite… you kind of want some right now. You walk down stairs and slide two slices of bread in the toaster and warm yourself some tea. Anything cold makes you throw up, baby doesn’t seem to like the cold. You munch on your bread as you read the paper. Another child had gone missing and you became old news. You are happy no one will be watching you as you get fatter but you also feel sad for the family.  The door slams causing you to jump. Your parents are arguing in the living room. “-have to take them to a doctor or something, thinking that they are in love with some man made of fire is just ridiculous. They need help.”

 

“I don’t think we need to admit them anywhere yet. Even if they were… taken advantage of… why make them remember? They are happy thinking they are having the one they love’s child-”

 

Your father cuts your mother off. “That _thing_ growing inside them is not a child. It isn’t our grandchild. They need to get married and then have children. That _thing_ is evidence that they were assaulted.”

 

This was a common fight between your parents. Your father is now starting to think you are insane, there isn’t anything you could do convince him otherwise. Not like you feel like doing it either. You stroke your stomach in smooth small circles as he spoke again. “We should convince them to get rid of it…” Your hand froze.

 

You stood up with your tea, causing your chair to clatter, but you didn’t stop. You enter the living room, furious. “That is it. This is why I didn’t tell you. I knew you wouldn’t believe me! I don’t care what you say about me, but when it comes to this, I will fight. It is not an “it”, it is my baby! And you will not make threats to my child!” You hold your stomach protectively with one hand.

 

“But ___, you were on a mountain for months, without anyone else and don’t have that much survival skills for the wilderness. You could have easily eaten something that you shouldn’t have and someone saw it has an opportunity to use you!” Your dad yelled at you. You look to your mom who was looking away, unable to meet either one of your eyes.

 

“I’m not getting rid of my child…” Out of frustration you gulp down your tea, not noticing that it had went cold. As soon as the cold liquid hit your stomach, you were in pain. Dropping the cup, you wrapped an arm around your stomach and placed a hand over your mouth. You can already feel something warm rise in your throat.

 

Your mother had ran to the kitchen and brought you a large bowl just in time for you to open your mouth to make way for the hot vomit in the back of your throat. You closed your eyes as hot air spilled out, but nothing else. You heard your parents gasp. “Is that smoke?!”

 

Opening your eyes, you see a puff of smoke evaporate in the air. Your parents’ eyes were wide with shock. Is there something on your face? Where did the smoke come from? You look at a family photo to see your reflection and see a steady stream of smoke coming out of your mouth still. You take a deep breath through your nose and breathe out through your mouth. More smoke came spilling out. Why was there smoke coming out of you?! “Oh wait… that makes sense…”

 

“Huh? How does smoke coming out of you for no reason make sense?”

 

You shrug. “Grillby is made of fire, it makes sense that his child doesn’t like liquids… well they like liquids but it seems to be only when it is warm…hmmm… actually I don’t remember ever seeing Grillby drink anything….” You mumble to yourself as your parents stand there in shock, the previous fight forgotten.

 

“This is… too much…” Your dad runs his hands through his hair and sits on the couch, completely drained.

 

Your mom takes the bowl from you and pats your shoulder. “Go upstairs for now hon, your father and I need to talk about a few things.” You nod and headed upstairs to your room. The confrontation between you and your father runs through your mind. It is obvious that he isn’t handling this well and that it is putting strains on him and the family.

 

Sitting on your bed, you eye the phone plugged into your wall beside your bed. For once you felt sure about something in your life and what you want to do with it, you aren’t going to let anyone else take that from you. You pick up the phone and dial the number of someone you know who would understand. “Hey Mr. Patterson, I need a favor…”

 

* * *

 

 

~26 weeks pregnant~

 

You are sitting in a rocking chair in the children’s reading section of the store, reading one of Fluffy-Bunny’s adventure books. “Fluffy-Bunny greeted his new friend with a little ‘boop’ of his nose.” You feel a kick as you read the book out loud. Their ears are now fully developed and can hear very well now. You giggle, placing a hand on your stomach. “Do you wish to boop Fluffy-Bunny as well?” You are rewarded with another kick. “Boop.” Kick. “Boop.” Kick. You can’t control your laughter now, closing the book, you rub your large stomach with both hands. “My little Boop. Kick me all you want, just ease up on the heat and heartburn, your Zaza is dying here.”

 

“Wow, you are getting big.” You look up to see a woman peeking around the corner.

 

“Oh Aria! Here to see the old man?” You chuckled. Aria is Mr. Patterson’s grandson’s wife and tends to pop in once in a while to check up.

 

She shakes her head. “Nope, here to check up on you. I am your midwife after all.”

 

“Don’t we usually do that at my house?” You chuckled as you motioned her to join you. She takes her seat on the floor in front of you and starts to rub your tired swollen feet. Your legs have been extremely tired lately, despite the spike in energy you had lately.

 

“Yeah, but it is so far from here now… though it isn’t as intense as when you were living with your parents…” You sigh in agreement. Mr. Patterson owns quite a few cabins that he rents out to people around the mountain. He offered you one of them to you and you moved in within a week after the argument with your father. Now that you no longer live under his roof, you don’t have to listen to his protests to get “that creature” out of your stomach. Your mother is indifferent; she doesn’t reach out to you but sends baby supplies and toys to you. Maybe when the child is born they’ll change their minds… Ugh, heartburn coming back. You reach into your purse and take out your new best friend, Tums! You slid the antiacid in your mouth and take a long sip of water. It no longer hurts to drink cold liquids but… You open your mouth and a steady stream of smoke tumbles out. “That is like, so rad.” You laugh at Aria when she paused from her massage of your legs to watch the smoke rise in amazement.

 

“I’m somehow used to being a chimney now.” You swipe away some left over smoke in front of your face. “What really amazes me is how accepting of this you are.”

 

“Oh paaaa-lease, after I read your book from Gramps, it feels like I’m living inside the unwritten sequel to their love story. I hope I get to see their loving reunion someday.” She sighs with a hand over her chest. “And what a surprise you have for him, his child. It truly is tragic that he won’t be here for this… have you thought of any names yet?” You tell her the names that you were thinking about and she nods. “Cute, have you thought of any nicknames to stick with? Can’t keep calling it baby or them. It can really help you bond with your child.” She places a hand on your stomach.

 

You smile knowing the perfect name. “Yeah, I think I’ll call them my boop.”

 

“Oh golly, they just kicked me!”

 

* * *

 

 

~34 weeks pregnant~

 

You are sitting on the floor, rubbing your stomach. You are only a few weeks away from having your baby. Currently Mr. Patterson and his grandson were setting up the furniture in the nursery for you; Aria was passed out on the couch. She has two other clients who weren’t as easygoing as you were. They both tucker her out so much that she often takes a nap before examining you. You look out the window, feeling content with your situation, but still have that gentle tug in your chest. Your SOUL still is desperate for Grillby, if you aren’t careful it might pop out in front of everyone. The only person who has ever seen it is Grillby and you plan to keep it that way. You watch as the sun’s last rays disappear from the mountain, the sky now dark. “One day booper, your father will be free and the three of us can be happy together. I hope with my entire SOUL that that day comes.” You try to stay positive and speak with enthusiasm, but you can’t help but feel sad and empty without Grillby by your side. Suddenly you notice a familiar feeling inside your stomach. It started off small but slowly spread throughout your core. A feeling of warmth and comfort washed over you as you marveled down at your stomach. It was the same feeling you felt when you held Grillby’s SOUL, but slightly different. “Is that you comforting me? Can you sense my pain through my SOUL?” You ask but don’t expect a reply. You rub your stomach and look back at the mountain. “Thank you, my little booper.”

 

 (not the greatest artist, but this is generally what I pictured for this scene)

 

* * *

 

 

~Seven years later~

 

The store just finished hosting a reading for children while parents shopped for books. You are putting away a few scattered books left behind by the other children. One child was left, reading to herself in the corner with her hoodie off. “Booper, you can lower your hoodie now.” She jumped to her feet and ripped off the sweater entirely, freeing her pixie cut naturally light blue hair.

 

“Zaza, why can’t I show my hair to the other kids? Aria always says my hair is pretty.” She pouted at you, crossing her arms.

 

“Because my little Booper, you aren’t like the other kids. It is the same reason you can’t set yourself on fire when we are in public and why I am home schooling you.” Booper huffed, a puff of smoke slipped out of her mouth. You chuckled at her before going back to work. Back when she was just a baby it was easier to go out in public, her hair was pure white. No one thought it was strange, but as she got older it started to change colors.

 

When she was two it turned orange, then green, and then red. You were so confused till her hair turned purple when she was four; it was a similar color to your SOUL. You taught her how to show you her SOUL and there it was, a small purple heart, just like yours. No idea why, but her hair changes colors to what color her SOUL is. Purple didn’t last long and it turn orange again when she was five. Orange became your least favorite color… she had discovered her fire abilities and… thank goodness you own the cabin now. You had to replace so much thanks to her throwing her orange fire everywhere. You had to give her a strict talking to after that. But there were still issues, now that her magic was activated, there are times that she had lost control of it. It reacted to her emotions and often you couldn’t touch her when she was crying because her whole body was on fire. You look to the side of you as your child picked another book to read. That was when you really wished you had Grillby around. You started teaching her breathing methods to help keep her emotions in check. They had actually worked. Mr. Patterson even thought it would be a good idea to teach her meditation. The orange color slowly disappeared and a new color formed. Her current light blue and it has stayed for nearly two years now. Her SOUL had finally settled. You are surprised how well a seven year old took to meditation; you yourself don’t have the patience for it.

 

“Hey ___, guess which book we just sold out of?” Mr. Patterson called out to you.

 

“Peek-a-boo with Fluffy-Bunny?” You said jokingly, making your way over to the front.

 

Mr. Patterson shook his head, chuckling. “Yes, but we also sold out of a certain book that someone who works here had written.” He motioned to the now empty display that had been full of copies of your book. " _The Flame in the Mountain_ was a huge success. People love your book. So happy I had the idea that you write a book and then send it to a publisher.” He posed smugly.

 

“Uh huh.” You chuckled as your child came over to see what was going on. She started to cling to your leg and you patted her head.

 

“Zaza wrote a book?” She stared at the stand questioningly. “What is it about?”

 

“It’s about how your Zaza met your father.” You flinch and motion for Mr. Patterson to stop talking. You haven’t talked to her about her father yet, you were going to wait till she asked but were hoping when she was older…

 

Thank goodness for Aria walking in at that moment. “Aria!” Your child ran to Aria and tried to hug her around her big round pregnant belly.

 

“Hey there kiddo.” Aria patted her on the head as Mr. Patterson’s grandson came in behind her. “Look what I got you, a cute white ribbon headband!” Aria helps put the headband in her hair and puts her hands on her hips in triumph. “I knew it would look cute with your hair. You are just absolutely adorable.”

 

Aria rubs her belly, wincing slightly at a kick. “Aria, why are you so big?”

 

“Booper! Don’t ask her that.” You scolded your child.

 

“It’s okay ___.” Aria raises a hand at you and giggles. “Our baby is in here. You were inside your Zaza just like this. I’m becoming a Zaza as well, and Joseph is becoming a daddy.” She motions to her husband who puts a hand on her stomach lovingly.

 

“A baby? It’s both of yours?” She squints at Aria’s stomach, trying to see the baby.

 

Aria and Joseph looked at each other lovingly. “Yes, it takes us both to make a baby. Here, want to feel? They are extremely active right now.” Aria places her little hand on her stomach and waits. A small kick lifts her hand ever so slightly and she squeals.

 

“Zaza! I felt it move!” She looks at you and there are small sparks of excitement coming out of her eyes.

 

“Yeah? You did that to me all the time too.” You laughed as you watch your child put both their hands on Aria’s stomach, feeling for more kicks.

 

“Wait…” She pauses. “How did the baby get in your tummy?” She looks to all the adults, waiting for someone to answer her. No one could meet her curious eyes.

 

“Uhhhhhhhhhh…..”

 

* * *

 

 

You are sitting in your living room, looking at college pamphlets as your child played with her toys. Now that your child is older, now may be a better time to start taking more than once a week night classes. You want to do more than working at the bookstore for the rest of your life. Maybe a degree in writing or studying ancient scriptures…. What to do, what to do?  “Hey Zaza?”

 

“Hmm?” Oh, this campus isn’t far and offers late classes.

 

“Where is my dad?” You almost rip the pamphlet you are reading in half. You look at your child who is waiting quietly for your response. She has the look that says she isn’t going to let this one slide.

 

“Um, why do you ask?” You know why, you mentally slap yourself for asking.

 

“Well you have a dad, Aria’s baby has a dad, and I see other kids with their dads. Shouldn’t I have a dad too? Pops said you wrote a story about how you met my dad, where is he?” She pulls her knees to her chest and draws circles with her finger in the rug.

 

You sigh, sliding off the couch and on to the floor with your child. “Booper come here.” You hold out your arms and she crawls into your lap. “Your father… he is trapped somewhere and he can’t get out, not yet. Many people like him are stuck there. But when he is free, we’ll be right here waiting for him. Do you know why we live here, in the woods by the mountain?”

 

She shakes her head. “Why?”

 

“Because up on that mountain, just a few miles from here, there is a cave, with a large magical barrier and behind it is where your father lives. Once that barrier falls, he will be able to come out. We will be the first people he sees when he is freed.” You smile at her as her eyes go wide.

 

“He is in that mountain!?” She jumps from your lap and slams her body into the sliding glass door. “Really? He is really that close?” She placed her hand on the window, where the mountain stood. She stroked her hand on the glass, staring at the mountain longingly. It has been years, but your SOUL still stung when you looked at the mountain, it craves to be there with Grillby again. “When will I get to meet him?”

 

You smile at her and try to be positive. “I’m not sure; I hope it will be soon. But no matter how long we will have to wait, I will wait for him, even when I’m old and grey. I’ll wait…”

 

 

* * *

 

 

~Years later~

 

You were driving back to town after being away in England, translating a new ancient book that was recently discovered. The university wouldn’t just send you pictures like everyone else did so you could translate them at home. They made you fly all the way there and translate the whole book for over a month. You are so happy to be home. Your car starts dinging at you, a red light flashing that you need gas. You pull up in a gas station and exit your car. Maybe you’ll buy some snacks; Aria’s son, Zaire, may be at the store with Booper too. Ever since he was born he has clung to Booper, they were always together like siblings and always getting in trouble. Now he is in high school and your little Booper has her own career she works when she isn’t covering for you at the bookstore. You sigh as you grab a bag of flaming jalapeño Cheetos for your not so little child and Sour crème and onion chips for the teenage boy.  Now what to drink? You stare at the teas, trying to think of which one will taste fine after Booper heats it up, since she still doesn’t like cold drinks. You hear the door of the gas station store open. “Okay Gerson, I’ll pay for gas while you find us something to drink. We have to meet Alphys in an hour for lunch.”

 

“Excuse me?” A shadow looms over you and you realize that you were in the person’s way.

 

“Oh I’m so sorry; I was having trouble picking a tea for my picky child.” You look up and freeze. The turtle monster that let you go all those years ago was standing in front of you. He looked slightly older than before and his right eye was squinted shut, but there was no doubt that this was the same monster. Your jaw dropped as you stared at the turtle, unsure if you are dreaming or not. “You…you….”

 

“Wa ha ha! Yes me, you look familiar human. Have we met before?” He raised an eyebrow at you as he stroked his beard.

 

Before you could answer, a blue fish woman with vibrant red hair stepped in front of the turtle. “Got a problem with monsters punk?” She threatens over you.

 

“Hey now, little urchin, no need to pick fights, they were just surprised, right?” The turtle pattwd her on the shoulder as you nodded slowly.

 

“How long have you guys been on the surface?” You whispered.

 

“Huh?”

 

“About a month now, why were you waiting for someone? Wa ha ha. I think I saw a certain monster with this human girl with blue hair.” The turtle chuckled.

 

You gasp, a month? They've been here a month?! You never hated your job till now, causing you not to be able to greet the one you were waiting for all this time. “Huh? Are you talking about Grillby- uh, hey, punk… why are you crying?” You dropped the snacks on the floor and cry into your hands. It is him! And he has been spending time with your child…

 

“Wa ha ha! Anyhoo, we should get going now, the human has someone to go see.” The turtle turned the fish woman around and they walked out of the door.

 

“Wait!” You called out to them, face still full of tears. “Thank you, for helping us  before and now.”

 

“Nah, it’s nothing special.” The fish woman looked between the two of you, confused. “Just go already.” You nod and run to pay for your gas, forgetting the snacks you planned to grab. You rushed to the bookstore. Bursting through the front door, you see Booper working at the front desk while talking to a skeleton monster.

 

“Hey! Zaza! I got a surprise for you!” As you got closer she motioned for you to look to your left to see a familiar flame sitting in a chair, facing away from you.

 

“Grillby…” You whisper, the world faded around you as he stood to face you. He was holding your book, half way through the story. He was still wearing the vest you found him over twenty years ago.

 

“___...” He smiled at you, his eyes showing the same firework show as he looked you over. You felt shy, unsure if he would still find you as attractive as before, now that your body has aged and went through child birth.

 

You rub your neck, unsure where to look. You thought it would be safe to look down out your feet. “Told you that vest would look good on you… um I know I left without saying anything and other things had developed.” You motioned back to your child who shouts a ‘yo’. “Um, but I didn’t have a lot of options, I didn’t think it would be safe for us to be together when so much was happening down there… um but the moment I came to the surface, I missed you. I missed you all these years and waited for you to be free!” You were crying uncontrollably now. You feel warm hands on your cheeks. Your SOUL was doing flips in your chest. “And I missed welcoming you because of my stupid job and I wanted to be first to see you.”

 

“It’s ok, ___. You’re here now…” He spoke to you as he rubs his forehead against yours. You missed that deep crackly voice of his more than you thought you did. He stares into your eyes, sparks still shooting around. He pulls you in and you feel the heat of his lips being pressed against yours. Your eyes go wide for a moment, but you relax into him, wrapping your arms around his back. He pulled you closer, deepening the kiss. You can hear your child cheering behind you and you both chuckle, not stopping. You missed years of kissing; you aren’t going to stop now and plan to make up for it.

 


End file.
